Work has begun creating 'wildlife corridors' on grass verges across Warwickshire as the county's grass cutters are out in force.

Warwickshire County Council's team began cutting the rural verges in one metre swathes last week, with the work expected to take three weeks.

The council is responsible for maintaining nearly 25 million square metres of verges across Warwickshire.

And this year the verge cutting will aim to promote biodiversity by creating wildlife corridors.

Cllr Wallace Redford, portfolio holder for road safety explained: "We have a responsibility to maintain road safety for all road users, but we also have a responsibility to foster sustainability.

"When verges are left to grow wild, they can play an important ecological role acting as corridors connecting areas of habitat and providing food and shelter for many species. 

"Our next step is to explore how we might adjust our own rural cutting regime to improve biodiversity and create wildlife corridors as well consider how we might be able to engage with local communities to adjust and reduce the number of verge cuts, within towns and villages, to enable the existing flora and fauna to flourish." 

The county highways team carries out the mowing in rural areas that typically have speed limits over 40mph. This usually happens three times per year but the new policy will mean selected stretches along rural roads will only be cut once each year – in August or September – with the aim of encouraging the flowering and seeding of wildflowers.

Town and village verges are usually maintained by the district and borough councils.

The verges, as well as junctions and bends, are mown to a 'safety' standard, to ensure visibility and maintaining safety.

The county council is also partway through resurfacing roads across Warwickshire.

(Header image by Rod Allday via geograph.org.uk)